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I call the agents who participate in PiBoIdMo “agent prizes”, but let me make one thing clear: you do not get to bring them home with you.

Oh, sure, I know how you’d love to cuddle up with an agent, dress them in adorable footie pajamas and read them bedtime stories, but alas, they are remaining in their respective homes. For now. Who knows? If they really LOVE your ideas, maybe they’d like to snuggle beside you? But I digress…

At the conclusion of PiBoIdMo, on December 1st, I will post the “PiBo Pledge”. Leave a comment on the pledge post if you have completed the challenge with at least 30 ideas. You do not have to submit those ideas to prove that you have them. You’re on the honor system. It’s OK, I trust you.

If you have “signed” the pledge by commenting AND you had also registered, then you are eligible for an “agent prize”—a.k.a. THE GRAND POOBAH OF PRIZES. You will get your 5 best ideas evaluated by a kidlit agent. They’ll tell you which ideas might be the best ones to pursue as manuscripts. (Or not.)

Don’t worry–you’ll get a few days to pick your 5 best ideas and flesh them out before sending to your assigned agent.

This year we have EIGHT EXCELLENT AGENTS participating! This means there are EIGHT GRAND PRIZES! I hope to add more, but these are who we have thus far.

Joan is a Senior Agent with EMLA, working from her home office in Massachusetts as the “East Coast branch” of the agency. She represents all forms of children’s and young adult literature, but is most excited by a strong lyrical voice, tight plotting with surprising twists and turns, and stories told with heart and resonance that will stand the test of time.

An EMLA client herself, Joan is also the author of numerous books for children, most recently the picture books Ghost in the House (Candlewick, 2013) and Petey and Pru and the Hullabaloo (Clarion, 2013), and the novels Paradox (Random House, 2013) and Rules for Ghosting (Walker, 2013). When she is not on the phone, answering email, or writing, you will most likely find Joan curled up with a book. Or baking something delicious. Or talking about something delicious she’s baked. Really, after books and food, what else is there worth saying?

Tricia is the “Pacific Northwest branch” of EMLA—born and raised in Oregon, and now lives in Seattle. After 18 years of working as a developmental and production-based editor (from kids book to college textbooks, but mostly college textbooks), she joined the EMLA team in March 2011 as a social media strategist.

As associate agent, Tricia represents picture books/chapter books that look at the world in a unique and unusual way, with characters that are alive both on and off the page, and middle grade and young adult fiction and nonfiction that offers strong worldbuilding, wounded narrators, and stories that grab a reader and won’t let go.

Tricia loves hiking, camping out in the woods, and collecting rocks. She loves BBC America and anything British. She has way too many books and not enough bookshelves. You can find Tricia’s writing about blogging, Tweeting, Facebooking, and other social media topics (for authors and the publishing industry at large) here and here.

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Marietta Zacker, Nancy Gallt Literary Agency

Marietta has experienced children’s books from every angle—teaching, marketing, publishing & bookselling. She thrives on working with authors who make readers feel their characters’ emotions and illustrators who add a different dimension to the story. She is also book curator at an independent toy store/bookstore. Read a recent publishing industry piece by Marietta here.

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Danielle Smith, Foreword Literary

Danielle Smith began her agent career at Foreword Literary Agents in 2013 where she represents picture books and middle grade authors and illustrators. Her enthusiasm for children’s literature began as a young child, but grew exponentially when her own two children were born and shortly thereafter she began reviewing books at her top rated children’s book review site There’s A Book. For more than five years she’s been involved professionally with books through print and online publications such as Women’s World and Parenting Magazine, as a member of the judging panel for The Cybils awards for fiction picture books, as well as locally by serving on the board of The Central Coast Writer’s Conference.

Danielle is also a writer, represented by Pam van Hylckama Vlieg for her middle grade novel The Protectorate. She’s a member of SCBWI and can frequently be found on Twitter talking about anything from children’s books to the BBC’s Sherlock to her own parenting woes & joys.

Mira Reisberg came to launch Hummingbird Literary following a 25-year history in the field of children’s literature working as an award-winning illustrator, a writer, editor, art director, designer, a children’s literature and art education professor, and a teacher/mentor to many now successful children’s book creatives.

Her mission is to successfully represent all age-levels to create wonderful books that bring meaning and/or joy to children’s and young adult lives. Hummingbird Literary will have a limited number of clients so that Mira and her team can focus on building long-term careers and fruitful relationships.

Susan Hawk represents authors who write for children of all ages, babies to teenage.

Susan comes to TBA from Children’s Book Marketing, where she worked for over 15 years, most recently as the Marketing Director at Henry Holt Books for Young Readers, and previous to that as the Library Marketing Director at Penguin Young Readers Group. She’s also worked as a children’s librarian and a bookseller.

Susan handles books for children exclusively: picture books, chapter books, middle grade and YA, fiction and non-fiction. She wants a book to stay with her long after she finishes reading, and she’s looking for powerful, original writing. She’s open to mystery, scifi, humor, boy books, historical, contemporary (really any genre). Her favorite projects live at the intersection of literary and commercial. In non-fiction she’s looking for books that relate to kid’s daily lives and their concerns with the world. In picture books, she’s looking particularly for author-illustrators, succinct but expressive texts, and characters as indelible as her childhood favorites Ferdinand, Madeline and George and Martha.

Lori Kilkelly is an agent with Rodeen Literary Management, founded by Paul Rodeen, formerly of Sterling Lord Literistic, in 2009. After working in sales for a number of years, Lori decided to follow her passion for books. She attended the Denver Publishing Institute, subsequently joining the agency as an intern in early 2010. Ascending the ranks from intern and reader to assistant, she worked with current and potential clients as well as editors and publishers. In early 2012 Lori took on the role of Social Media Manager, creating and maintaining the Rodeen Literary Facebook page as well as Twitter and Pinterest accounts, to provide promotional opportunities for RLM clients as well as keep interested parties informed about books, news and events involving RLM. In December 2012 she began representing her first client, Toni Yuly, and has subsequently taken on an additional four clients. She represents authors as well as illustrators and is actively seeking talented Middle Grade and Young Adult writers.

Sean McCarthy began his publishing career as an editorial intern at Overlook Press and then moved over to the Sheldon Fogelman Agency. He worked as the submissions coordinator and permissions manager before becoming a full-time literary agent. Sean graduated from Macalester College with a degree in English-Creative Writing, and is grateful that he no longer has to spend his winters in Minnesota.

He is drawn to flawed, multifaceted characters with devastatingly concise writing in YA, and boy-friendly mysteries or adventures in MG. In picture books, he looks more for unforgettable characters, off-beat humor, and especially clever endings. He is not currently interested in high fantasy, message-driven stories, or query letters that pose too many questions.

You can visit Sean here and follow him on Twitter here for his thoughts on publishing news, the inevitable hipsterfication of Astoria, and the Mets’ starting lineup.

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Yay! So those are our agents, folks.

Now I should end on a humorous note, but you know, running PiBoIdMo just wipes the witty right outta me sometimes.

Agent Marietta Zacker has agreed to join Audrey Vernick and Olugbemisola Rhuday-Perkovich for the Humor Intensive Workshop taking place at the New Jersey Society of Children’s Book Writer’s and Illustrators Conference June 3rd – June 5th.

This is a four-hour interactive hands-on session intensive workshop for those who want to develop their craft and understand the nuances of writing humor for kids.

Using a balance of lecture, discussion, exercise, and feedback, we’ll develop a toolbox of humor-writing techniques. We’ll look at old-school rules and structural methods and the myriad ways humor writers break those rules. From idea generation all the way through revision, we’ll talk about how to develop a sort-of-funny idea into a laugh-out-loud manuscript.

You’ll leave with concrete plans for injecting humor into your work and ideas for new stories ripe with humor potential. And stomach muscles that may ache a bit from laughing just a little too hard.

What Marietta brings to the table:

Marietta will sit in on the Intensive and comment on what the attendees write during the session. Attendance is small, which will allow Marietta to review the first 3 pages of a work-in-progress with the attendees and go over it with them during the workshop.

If you have not signed up for this Intensive Session, you might want to consider registering.

Before you submit a manuscript, she says, you have to answer the very difficult question, who will share my passion. She wants authors who are exceptional at their craft and write with passion.

These days, it's harder and harder to get published without and agent, generally. "It's a definite team effort" between agents and editors. Editors and agents don't have secret, "we simply speak to each other" and agents pass on their authors' passion onto the editors.

Specifics about the industry: It's tough out there, but for different reasons than it was tough last year. Editors have less time, there is fewer staff, there's less money. But from her perspective, that's not what she thinks writers should concentrate on.

Marietta is my agent and she's absolutely the best agent I could have ever hoped for. I feel so lucky to have her representing me and my work. She is truly what every agent should be, not to mention she's incredibly smart and very funny!

Lin Oliver has started asking the agents questions. Lin says, "Tell Nancy [Gallt] we are all expecting a website."

Marietta echoed all the other agents' answers to Lin's first question and adds what she has noticed as a change in business thanks to the economic slump:

Conversations with editors are really deep... They are working so hard, not taking anything for granted, they are really looking deep into their souls to figure out what they are looking to acquire.

Lin's next question concerns what the agents feel their roles are as agents -- lots of editing? Hands off?

For Marietta it really depends, there are some manuscripts -- it's not that they are ready to go, but it's that the MS needs someone in an editorial department to work on it. Marietta is not afraid to work on/edit manuscripts.

Love it! Lee inspired me, too. I just posted Twitter Feeds for Aug. 6 & 7, and will post more Twitter feed blogs 2morrow. It was a lot of work, huh, Alice and Lee? Wow, took me an hour to post both! LOL! xo Paula (http://bit.ly/UcLN2 and http://bit.ly/12n1LE) PS. Reposted cuz I can't seem to use anything but my other blogger account which is for a food blog. just FYI if you're confused. Paula Parmesan = Paula Yoo LOL!

Okay, it really is a cool idea - I missed so many of these - and even that Holly Black quote about the Elves sitting around drinking coffee and enuii - LOL - I blogged that session! Thanks for sharing all this great stuff the second time around,Namaste,Lee

You win a free package of Carolyn Howard-Johnson's ebooks: The Frugal Editor and The Frugal Promoter.

Please email me your email address so I can hook you up with Carolyn. Congratulations and thanks so much for following me and participating this week!For rules and schedule, go here.Marketing to Indies (Marietta Zacker, Nancy Gallt Literary Agent and Indie Bookstore Owner)Don't forget to Follow me and comment on this post for a chance to win today's Daily Prize! Today's prize includes a query OR/one chapter critique from Marietta along with a follow up phone call to discuss!!! Good luck!

Hi Marietta. Thanks for celebrating MardiGras with us this week!

Hi Shelli, thanks so much for giving me this opportunity to share a little bit about myself while adding to the conversation about marketing and children’s books.

Great info for someone steeped into kidlit. We are lucky to have several indie bookstores and I know one of the owners quite well and have made an initial contact with another one, whose bookstore is within a children's toy/clothing store as well. I haven't kept up that connection so this is a reminder to me.

I think it's wonderful that Marietta took the time to give advice. Agents are so inundated with work that sometimes I wonder if they have any free time. Thank you! Oh, and I'd love to win today's contest.

Oh wow. I just queried her YESTERDAY (and I guess I didn't read your guest list very clearly, because I had no idea she would be on here).

Her ideas about diversity are awesome. It would be awesome to win this. And after all you/she said about independent book stores? So true. I'm floating on cloud nine. Thanks so much for doing this Maris Gras week!

I had the pleasure of meeting Marietta at the SCBWI/Midsouth conference last September, and it was so nice to read an interview asking all those questions we couldn't politely grill her about at the event. Thanks! BTW, if any of you make to Louisville, KY, Carmichael's Bookstore is an indy gem!

Thanks for this information. I always get such a warm "at home" feeling when I walk into my local indie bookstore, kind of like how it used to feel walking into grandma's house. It's great to know specifically how I can foster a relationship with them as a writer.

One of the most informative and practical interviews blogs I've read. It's people like Marietta that give authors the confidence to keep writing our art and persevere against the odds. Thanks so much. Very encouraging.

Thank you so much for such specific, helpful marketing info! Wow, a lot of things I never would have thought of , and I feel so far from that stage of the journey, but I'll happily file it until then! Our local Indie is closing-real sad. They tried downsizing, but now will close :(

Marietta had great tips! The pairing of the school visits with the book signing at a bookstore is a great idea. I've seen both done independently but I hadn't thought of connecting the two. Great idea.And her Indie book store looks so cute!

Talk about multi-tasker! Wow, I love the idea (though I imagine it's great work) of both a literary agent and books seller-- that truly is devotion to the wonders of books! Anyhow thank you for the tip on Indie Bound, I became a member. In Maine, we're blessed with a number of Indies, as well as a very strong, writing/illustrating community. Thank you again for this series, Sherri!

Marietta came to the US from Puerto Rico when she was a little girl, and couldn't speak a word of English. Books became very important to her, and she ended up teaching. And she found that when a book hit home, it changed lives.

You can't set out to, for example, write the next "Sherman Alexie" novel, or jump on the vampire wagon. Instead you must go with your passion.

She's written, submitted and received rejections letters, and she things she only submitted material so she could get rejections--she wanted to know what it felt like.